


Pride and Pokémon

by Megara Bee (Megara_Bee)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Pokemon AU, Rumbelle Secret Santa, Rumbelle Secret Santa 2014, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 09:02:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2806985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megara_Bee/pseuds/Megara%20Bee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for Rumbelle Secret Santa 2014 - Pokémon AU</p>
<p>Mr. Gold has spent years trying to quash his feelings for Belle French, but time and time again her smile wins him over. When the opportunity to be rid of her presents itself, he takes it; but love has other plans.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pride and Pokémon

In 40-something years of catching, training, and battling, Mr. Gold of Story Town had never had a nemesis. He’d fought many other trainers, of course, and as a young lad he’d lost his share of matches (more than his fair share, probably), but he’d never had a true nemesis. There had been a few clumsy thieves who had tried to steal his Pokémon, and in his later years there had even been some women who had tried to seduce him for power, but he was ruthless in punishing those that trespassed against him and no one remained long enough to present a real challenge.

No one, that is, until Belle.

She was a true danger to him. Her smile disarmed him and her kindness drew him in like moth to flame. He had been in love before and, unfortunately, had come to recognize it in his dealings with Belle. He loved her, and love was weakness.

More than that, love was danger. Love was a weapon. Gold had often used trainers’ love for their Pokémon against them in battle, forcing them into deals rather than permanently lose their precious companions. It had earned him the title “Dealmaker”, though he’d honestly have preferred “Heartbreaker”. The rare person could out-deal him, but no one could break his heart. You can’t break what isn’t there.

Or so he’d told himself, until Belle had come along. She had awoken in him something he’d thought was dead, and that made her very powerful.

He stood outside the secondhand shop that her father rented from him and took a few deep breaths. He could see her through the window, polishing up some old piece of junk like it was a precious gem. She treated everything with such tenderness and care… it made his stomach churn. He was repulsed, that was it. He certainly hadn’t swallowed any Butterfrees lately.

The shop had been Gold’s father’s and when Moe French’s flower business had failed more than ten years ago, the man had come crawling on his knees for a second chance. Penniless and pathetic, Gold had briefly considered throwing him in debtor’s prison, or making him serve in some other humiliating capacity, but then he had seen the girl. No more than twelve, she was cradling a Poké Ball to her chest and watching her father beg. She wasn’t crying; she was just standing there with her chin thrust forward and her gaze determined.

To punish the father was to punish the child, a lesson Gold knew all too well. For the first time in his life he took pity on someone, and let Moe French tend the already failing shop. Gold didn’t need it for income, and honest work might be good for the slob of a man. These were the things he told himself when he stopped in periodically to collect the proceeds from the business. It certainly wasn’t to check in on the girl with the brilliant smile.

Forcing himself back to the moment, he entered the shop.

“Welcome to Gold’s - oh, hello Mr. Gold. Come to yell at my father some more? Or are you here to torture me this time?” Her words were sharp, but there was a grin tugging at the corner of her full, punk lips.

“You know Miss French, I was just thinking about that proud, stubborn little slip of a girl who used to hang on her father’s every word. Now that same girl stands before me, as stubborn as ever, only now she’s aware of what kind of man raised her.”

Her smile disappeared. “What do you want?”

“I came to collect, of course.”

“I’ll get your money,” she said, turning and walking through the curtain to the back.

Picking up his cane, he crept behind the counter to eavesdrop.

He heard Belle shuffling papers and items around, before letting out an exasperated sigh.

“Papa, Papa wake up.”

He heard a groan.

“Where’s the money? Where’s the money for Mr. Gold?”

“That rat bastard… it’z hiz fault we’re in this mess, that utter arse-”

“Shh Papa! Now, where’s the envelope?”

“It’s over there… we’re light this month.”

Another sigh. Gold moved back around the counter.

She emerged, the crimson curtains swaying around her hips. “I’m afraid we haven’t met your quota this month.”

He schooled his features into a mask. “That’s how many months in a row?” he snarled. “I don’t like being owed, Miss French.”

“I’ve told you, it’s Belle. What else can we do for you, Mr. Gold? Isn’t indentured servitude enough?”

Suddenly a very wicked thought crossed his mind. “How are your Pokémon, Miss French?”

She cocked her head as she looked at him. “They’re doing well. Why do you care?”

“You raise mostly bug types, don’t you? Is it satisfying to root for the underdog, or do you just like being beaten?”

“I find myself drawn to those scorned by society,” she said, giving him a pointed look, “and I’ll ask again, why do you care?”

“I think it’s time we make a deal, you and I.”

She laughed. “Oh no, we don’t make deals, Mr. Gold. You come in here and pester me, and sometimes we even have pleasant conversation, but we do not make deals.”

“I think you’ll like what I have to offer,” he said, canting his hips and resting both hands atop his cane. “Your freedom. If one of your little Pokémon wins against mine in battle, I will give you a million dollars. That’s enough to sustain you and your father, I assume, after paying off his debts. Perhaps you could even travel, find some exotic new bugs.”

“And if you win?”

Clever girl. “What are you willing to offer?”

“Perhaps I asked the wrong question. What do you want from me? What of mine has caught your eye strongly enough that you’re willing to lose a million dollars in order to get it?”

Too clever. Her grin was mischievous as she crossed her arms, shifting her weight to match his stance. He couldn’t help looking down over her slight body, voices in his head arguing loudly about what he really wanted. He certainly didn’t want to rip off her jeans and feel the curves of her hips in his hands, nor did he want to kiss every inch of her creamy pale skin until she was begging him to fuck her, and he certainly wasn’t interested in tasting her on his tongue while she screamed his name and her fingers scratched his scalp. Nope. Not interested.

When he finally looked back up to her face, she was (of course) watching him. Her eyebrows quirked up, and he felt those Butterfrees in his stomach start to attack. “If I win,” he said, pausing in hopes of scaring the girl, just a little. “If I win, then I get to kick out your useless father and you take over his debt. Do we have a deal?”

He held out his hand. Belle moved to take it but paused, curling her fingers in the air.

“Before I agree to this, I need you to answer one question. To me that money means freedom, but what does it mean to you?”

Far, far too clever. “One million dollars is about half of my current liquid assets.”

“One half?” she asked, becoming more and more incredulous by the second. “You could have offered me a quarter of that, a tenth, and I would have taken it gratefully. Why would you give me half?”

“I’m not giving you anything. I’m placing a wager.”

“Still, you could lose. Why did you come to me, Mr. Gold? Why not challenge my father, why make a deal at all?”

This was perilously close to a truth he couldn’t admit. He frowned, and flashed his canines. “Do we have a deal or not?”

Belle bit her lip. Raising her chin into the air she took his hand and shook on it, sealing her fate.

“Alright Miss French, I’ll see you tomorrow morning for the battle. You might want to rest up your precious little bugs.”

“It’s Belle. And don’t worry, Mr. Gold; I intend to win.”

He smiled at her before turning and exiting the shop.

 

He knocked on Belle’s door at 7 AM the next day. He was hoping to catch her off guard, spook her a little, but he was out of luck. She was ready. She wore a belt with Poké Balls clipped to it and a nervous smile.

“Good morning, Mr. Gold. Lovely day for a friendly match.”

“Miss French, we both know that’s a lie. Come along, we’re expected at the gym.”

“The gym? Why so formal?”

“Because, Dearie, word travels quickly in this little town, and there’s quite a few people hoping you’ll beat me.”

They walked the few short blocks in silence. When they entered the large auditorium, both of them were shocked. Gold had expected a crowd but he had not expected it to be standing room only. The whole place was full of cheering, screaming people, and for just a moment, he flinched.

Quickly regaining his mask of cruel indifference, he took his place in the far side of the room. Away from the doors. Back to the wall. Belle was not so good at schooling her features; the woman looked positively anxious. She tried to hide it. A small smile, looking down and away from the crowds, fingers nervously fluttering around the balls on her belt… she was so brave.

“Let’s get this started, shall we?” he said, touching the com panel beside his platform. Loud matches were nothing new in Story Town. He watched as she touched her own panel, watched her lips and heard her words come from the staticky speaker just a second out of time.

“I’m not used to having such an audience.”

Gold sighed. “Just breathe, Belle… It’s only your whole future on the line.”

He could just make out the dirty look she shot him. Stepping away from the panel, Gold pulled out his Poké Ball. He’d only brought one. He took a deep breath, then another, and then (with more ferocity than was strictly necessary) he threw it out onto the field. With a burst of light, his choice emerged. Mewtwo.

Belle didn’t hesitate in choosing a ball from her belt. With a cry befitting a queen in battle she released her Pokémon. Pinsir.

At first, Gold didn’t hold back. Her Pinsir held its own against his moves, using a successful Bind move that left his Mewtwo hurting. Not even using Psychic could keep the horrendous thing down, and eventually he started dodging attacks. He kept her at bay as long as possible.

The battle was fast winding to a close, and Belle’s strategy became clear. She was going to use Guillotine. If he did nothing, if the move was effective, it would end the match. He would have no choice but to return his Mewtwo and declare her the winner. His status as an undefeated champion, his reputation as Story Town’s biggest villain, all of that would be gone with a blink of her pretty blue eyes.

He did nothing.

Belle won.

The alarm sounded, and the crowd’s cheers were deafening. Gold slinked back into the shadows. The crowd would leave from the other side of the stadium, he could wait it out. But Belle was running over to him, side-stepping eager townsfolk. He saw her smile and nod politely at the gathered masses as they screamed and tugged at her.

Finally she reached him. “Mr. Gold. I can’t… I don’t…”

“Your money will be wired to your bank account this evening. Good match,” he said, extending a hand for her to shake. To his dismay, her hand fit perfectly in his. His thumb stroked over her skin.

“Thank you, Mr. Gold.”

“Thank you, Belle,” he said. The crowd swept her up and carried her through the door, out into the sunlight where she belonged.

Once the wild masses were gone, he escaped back to his manor. He processed the paperwork for the transfer, poured himself a glass of whiskey, and sat in his dark study with an old book until he felt the tendrils of sleep curling around his mind. Dragging himself off to bed, he tried and failed to push her from his thoughts.

Nothing had changed, not really. Soon she’d be able to run off into the unknown, able to see the world she’d always dreamed of (or so he’d gleaned, from their conversations). Hell, she might even leave tomorrow. Yes, he thought as he curled up in bed, that’s what he would have done if he’d had a chance. If at 22 someone had given him a million dollars, he’d have left the next day and never looked back. Well, good for Belle. She’d finally be free.

 

He was surprised the next morning when she knocked on his front door in a beautiful blue dress.

“Miss French, what can I do you for you? Come back for the other half of my fortune?”

“Oh, we’re back to Miss French? No, I didn’t come for your money,” she said, pushing past him into the front hall. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about our deal.”

“You got what you wanted, you got your freedom. What’s left to think about?” He shifted, flexing his hands atop his cane.

“It just doesn’t make sense. You show up at my door and offer me the only thing I’ve ever wanted, presumably because you could win my servitude forever. You have a reputation for being ruthless in battles, but you use a Pokémon that’s weak to bug types and don’t use any of its strongest moves, you didn’t even use Recover. At the last minute, you opened yourself up for a defeating blow and let me win.”

“I certainly did no su-”

“I’m talking! You let me win. You gave me a million dollars.” She was lstaring at him so intently that he had to look away. “Rumple,” she said, and the sound of his never-used first name sent a shiver down his spine, “you gave me my freedom. Why would you do that?” Her blue eyes sparkled with hope (and just a little mischief) as she looked up at him, backing him against the wall, her heels closing their height gap by all but two inches.

In a moment of unbridled weakness, he reached up and traced the curve of her jaw with his fingertips. He could tell his voice would be raw before he even opened his mouth. “Because you deserve all the happiness in the world, Belle.”

Her face broke into a wide grin. She laughed, and breathed, and glowed. She reached up and stroked the lapels of his suit jacket. “What if,” she whispered, biting her lip, “what if I think… you’re my happiness?”

A harsh laugh escaped his throat. “I’m a monster who has been cruel to you your entire life. I could never be your happiness.”

“Only one way to find out.” She pulled ever so lightly on his lapels as she reached up, her lips crashing against his.

In that moment, the love he’d been holding in for so long came pouring out. Still holding his cane, his arms wrapped around her to hold her close as her hands snaked up his chest and wound their way into his hair. She latched onto his lower lip and sucked, making him groan. He kissed her with as much passion as his dusty heart could muster, savoring the way she sighed when he plucked her upper lips between his.

And as fast as they had disappeared when Belle kissed him, his fears came rushing back. No one could ever love him.

He pulled away, dropping his cane and clasping her wrists in his hands.

“You don’t owe me anything, Belle. You know that?”

“What? Of course I know that. You gave me the money to pay you back, and then some.”

“No, you don’t have to pay me back. Keep the money, if that’s what you really want, you don’t have to seduce me in order to-”

“No, I AM paying you back. My father owes you a debt and now he can pay it. Rumple,” she said, cupping his chin and forcing her to look at him, “I am not kissing you because of anything to do with our deal. I am here because, despite my best intentions, I am in love with you. Now please stop talking and just kiss me again,” she said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

He was happy to oblige. He pressed his lips against hers, noting the way she moaned when he reciprocated her little bite to his lower lip. When he swiped his tongue across the seam of her mouth, she opened for him. He sought out the sensitive places that made her gasp and moan, tracing the lines of her teeth. Soon her own tongue was sliding against his. It flicked against the points of his canines and she groaned, pulling away to breathe.

His hands slid down to her waist, the cane forgotten on the floor. Gasping for breath, he felt words spilling from his mouth but he hardly knew what he was saying. “I love you, Belle. I’ve loved you and I’ve tried so hard to fight it, because love is weakness and you deserve so much better than an old monster.”

“Hey, hey, none of that,” Belle said, placing her hands atop his and stroking over his skin with her thumbs. “You’re not a monster. You’re just a man. Unscrupulous, perhaps, but a man nonetheless.” She smiled, face lighting up. “Do you really love me?”

“Yes, very much.”

“I love you too,” she said, “or weren’t you listening?” For a moment they just grinned at each other like idiots, then Gold tilted his head down, seeking her lips but too shy to close the gap between them. She met him eagerly, hands sliding around his waist beneath his suit jacket.

They kissed until time became meaningless. Lips swollen and breathing heavily, Gold dropped his head to her neck.

“I assume there’s a bedroom somewhere in this large estate?” she asked, raking a hand through his hair.

“Yes, there is,” he whispered, kissing the spot just above her collarbone.

She sighed. “Then let’s go.”

“Are you sure?” He lifted his head to look her in the eye, and let his hand rub circles on her back.

“Of course I’m sure. I’ve been waiting a long time to find out what you taste like when I kiss you, and I don’t want to wait any longer to know how you feel inside me.”

He groaned. “This way.” Side by side, they made their way through his manor to the master bedroom. He had to tug Belle past the library and promise her that she could spend as much time there as she wanted… starting in about an hour.

When they reached the bedroom, Belle gasped. The far wall held a large stained-glass window, filling the room with rainbow light. She twirled once, soaking up all the beauty of the space, before dropping down onto the bed. Wriggling into the center, she leaned back on her elbows. With a wide smile, she raised a hand and crooked her finger, summoning him.

He was once more happy to oblige, crawling onto the bed and settling between her legs. He kissed her, nipping her swollen lips before moving to place a string of kisses down her jaw. Her hands tugged at his jacket, pushing it off his shoulders and guiding his arms until she could toss it to the floor. He dragged his lips down her neck, leaving open-mouthed kisses on her pale skin, his teeth nipping and scraping.

She mewled, her movements frantic as she worked open his waistcoat. Gold followed the neckline of her dress to the other side of her neck, where he paused to leave a larger mark. She opened his dress shirt, too, and tugged at the bottom of his t-shirt to free it from his pants. She dragged her knuckles across his stomach and he shuddered.

“Need… clothes off… now!” Belle gasped as he bit her, laving his tongue over the spot to soothe her smarting skin. She pushed him back onto his knees and started tearing off his layers while his nimble fingers sought out the zipper on the back of her dress. She tugged off his t-shirt and sighed, running her hands across his chest. “You’re stunning.”

“I’d like to return the compliment. May I?”

She nodded. With Belle’s help, Gold pulled her dress off over her head and promptly lost the ability to think.

“Gods and stars. You’re perfect,” he said, running his palms from her hips up to her breasts. He wasted no time in removing her bra and uncovering her breasts, bending to kiss her pink nipples. She groaned, hands squeezing his shoulders. His tongue and lips worked around one nipple while his hand massaged her other breast, calloused fingers lightly scratching the delicate skin. Belle was quite vocal, gasping and moaning under his careful ministrations. When her hips started to buck up beneath him, he switched sides.

When he sucked her nipple into his mouth, fingers teasing its twin, Belle keened. He grinned, thoroughly pleased that his skills hadn’t rusted over the years.

Gold scooted backwards, focusing his attention on the plane of her stomach. Her fingers latched onto his hair, squeezing whenever he kissed a sensitive spot. He took note of each one. He moved slowly from side to side, living up to his internal promise to kiss every inch of her, or at least every inch he could reach. When he reached the space between her belly button and the top of her panties, he blew a raspberry and she squealed.

“Rumple!”

“Hmm, not quite what I envisioned when I imagined you screaming my name, but it’ll do. For now,” he smirked, returning to his noble endeavor. With kisses, he traced the line of her underwear all the way across the top, lingering on her hip bone before moving down across her thigh. When he reached the apex of her thighs she squeezed the comforter in anticipation, no longer able to reach his hair. He chuckled and skipped right over the place she wanted him most, choosing to kiss her other thigh in symmetry.

Belle squirmed. Finally he snaked his arms beneath her legs, stroking her skin with his fingertips. He placed a kiss to the crotch of her panties and found them damp. She cried out as he placed gentle kisses to her cunt through her underwear, breathing in the smell of her and thoroughly enjoying the way she mewled and writhed beneath him.

“Please… please Rumple!”

“About that,” he said, looking up from between her legs, “how do you know my first name?”

“Wh…What? At a time like this? Why does it matter?”

“Because no one knows my first name! It’s a heavily guarded secret, and before you scream it, I want to know how you know it.”

“You’re pretty confident I’m going to be screaming,” she smirked. He nipped her thigh. “Owch! Alright. I found your birth certificate in the back of the shop. When I realized that the town’s infamous R. Gold was in fact born one “Rumplestiltskin Gold”, I suddenly understood why you only ever went by R. Of course Rumplestiltskin was too long to write in my notebook next to all the little cartoon hearts, so I shortened it. I like Rumple, it contradicts your perfectly pressed ensembles.”

Gold felt a blush on his cheeks and cursed. “For fuck’s sake, like you ever doodled my name in a notebook.”

“Well maybe not literally… but you aren’t the only one who had fantasies of me screaming for you.”

Gold smirked at that filthy mouth of hers. “It must have gotten lost back there. I’d like to have it back, if I might.”

“Of course. It’s yours… and so am I. Now, I hate to sound needy, but…”

“But I’m very close to that sweet pussy of yours, and I have a promise to live up to. Ready, my love?”

“Please!”

Gold hooked his fingers in her underwear and pulled them off, tossing them to the floor. He nuzzled the inside of her thigh and groaned. “Oh my darling, you smell fantastic. I’m dying to have a taste.” After placing a few kisses to her labia, he dipped his tongue between her folds. She keened, grabbing at the comforter again. He circled her entrance and then probed it with his tongue, moaning as he licked up some of her wetness. “Fucking amazing.”

He licked from the bottom of her entrance up to her clit, flicking the sensitive bud. Belle swore. Gold focused his oral attentions on her clit, circling it slowly, identifying the places she was most sensitive by how much she cried or how hard she bucked, while his fingers gently probed her entrance. First his slipped in just his middle finger. Pumping gently, he growled when she squeezed her inner muscles.

“Minx.”

“Tease,” she retorted, voice strained.

He added a second finger. She sighed as he worked in and out, well lubricated by her juices. He began to try new things with his tongue, alternating long flat strokes with quick flicks, varying his patterns to keep her from getting bored. When he added his ring finger, ring still on, Belle keened.

“Oh fuck! Fuck me, Rumple!”

“What a polite request, but I think I’d like to hear you beg,” he said, sucking her clit into his mouth.

She yelped. “Please! Please, I need more. I need… I need you to fuck me. Please fuck me! Oh fuck!”

“Well, if I have to,” he grumbled playfully, standing up beside the bed. He undid his belt and dropped both his pants and underwear, nearly tripping in his excitement. Belle (moving sluggishly, he was proud to note) raised herself up onto her elbows to look at him.

She bit her bottom lip and grinned.

“…Satisfactory?”

“Oh, more than. Come here and finish what you started.”

“What I started? I believe you kissed me,” he said as he crawled up the bed, holding himself above her on his forearms.

“I kissed you a few times, but you’re the one who set my skin aflame and ate me out. That makes you responsible for my orgasm,” she said, lifting her head up to kiss him again. He reached down the line them up, and she broke their kiss with a gasp when he pressed the tip of his cock against her entrance.

“Ready?”

“More than,” she said. The smirk was wiped from her face and replaced with delight as he pushed in, cock filling her and giving them both tremendous pleasure. He moved slowly, pushing in inch by inch, until he could go no farther. Buried to the hilt, he stopped to let them both breathe. Belle wrapped one arm around his shoulders and another around his back. After a moment she reached up and gave him a quick kiss to the lips and another to the neck before nodding at him and settling back against the bed.

He started with slow, shallow strokes. His brain was clouded by the sensation of Belle, warm and wet around his cock. He picked up his rhythm and was rewarded by an increase in Belle’s cries and the pressure of her nails on his back. Her knees squeezed his hips. She drew him down, until there was hardly space between their bodies; kissing his neck, she worked her way up to suck on his earlobe. He growled and his hips jerked, eliciting a breathy cry from Belle.

She giggled, nuzzling the corner of his jaw. He returned his attentions to the bruise he’d left earlier, lips and teeth pulling at her skin. Her fingers squeezed his back, nails lightly scratching his skin.

Soon she grew restless, hips lifting to meet his as she whined.

“Rumple… I need… I want to roll us over.”

He acquiesced, shifting his weight and rolling their bodies so that Belle was on top. She laughed, trying to find her balance atop him. He took her hands and laced their fingers, offering her ballast as she started to rock back and forth. Belle’s head dropped back, her lips hanging open. She rode his cock, and God, she was a beauty to watch. Her breasts bounced against her chest, puckered pink nipples a clear sign of her arousal; her arched back illuminating every line and curve of her middle, a roadmap that he was dying to memorize. From this position he could see himself slipping in and out of her as she moved, quickening her pace. Her brow was furrowed, eyes squeezed shut.

“It’s alright, sweetheart, I won’t break.”

This was the permission she needed. He thrust up as she came down, harder than before, and she cried out with each stroke. Her breath was coming heavily and her fingers squeezed his hands. Beads of sweat ran down her neck. It wasn’t long before she was shaking, the sparks of her pleasure ignited into a slow burn. Her inner muscles squeezed his cock and it was a struggle to keep his eyes open, but there was no way he was going to miss watching her come. Her cries got louder and louder, sounds turning into distinct syllables.

“Ruh, Ruh… Rumm!” She screamed, her orgasm reaching its peak.

It wasn’t quite his name… but it’s the thought that counts.  As she started to come down off her high, he gently unclasped their hands and placed his on her waist, guiding her as she dropped to his chest. He wrapped his arms around her back and flipped them again, lifting one hand to stroke her cheek.

“Are you alright?”

Belle smiled, eyes fluttering open. She nodded. “Yes, oh my Gods, yes.” She wrapped her legs around him, heels resting on his ass. Her fingers delved into his hair. “Don’t stop,” she whispered, kissing him.

He growled against her lips, hips finding a comfortable rhythm. Her heels encouraged him to speed up as they kissed and kissed, Belle nipping his bottom lip. He was getting close. Hoping to be a good lover, Gold put all his weight on one arm and slid the other down her body, until he could press a knuckle against her clit. She gasped and tugged his hair. There was no finesse this time as he rubbed the bud mercilessly, his cock still driving into her and his lips lingering on hers.

“Oh my fucking Gods, oh Rumple, I’m close again!”

“That… is… the… point…” he grunted, hips snapping. He dropped his head to the crook of her neck, desperately close to his own orgasm.

His hips jerked, stuttering against her as he came. He gasped her name like a prayer, his hand leaving her cunt to grasp at the bed. His knuckle had done the trick; Belle was squeezing him again, body trembling as a second and smaller wave of pleasure washed over her.

When he had done, he pulled himself out and dropped to the bed beside her, legs entwined, one arm draped across her stomach. Belle folded one arm beneath her head, the other toying with his hair.

“A beautiful woman in my bed… pigs must be flying in Pallet Town.”

“Is that all I am? A woman in your bed?”

“Oh no, no!” he said, turning and pulling her into his arms. “I certainly hope not. I… Belle, I meant what I said earlier. I love you,” he whispered, heart feeling as bare as the rest of him.

“I love you too,” she smiled and placed a kiss on his forehead, another on his lips.

“So… may I take you to dinner sometime?”

She laughed. “Rumple, I came twice. I’m yours. Besides, I’m rich now; I ought to pay for dinner.”

He flicked her nose, kissing her again. “No need to rub it in.”

Wound together, warm, and spent, the two lovebirds drifted off to sleep.


End file.
